What does Google say about SEO?

Is Google's AI Mode about to completely reshape your long-tail keyword strategy?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★★

Data from Google's AI Mode searches is already included in Search Console performance reports. Users are performing queries that are nearly three times longer than traditional searches.

AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Are query groups in Search Console really changing how you should analyze your SEO performance?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Search Console has added query groups that combine similar searches, allowing site owners to focus on broader themes rather than individual queries.

AI & SEO Search Console

Will custom Search Console annotations really transform how you track your SEO performance?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Custom annotations in the Search Console performance report are now available to everyone. They allow you to label events affecting your site and are shared with all Search Console users of the site.

AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Is Google really tightening the screws on low-quality content with this August spam update?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Google regularly updates its automated spam detection systems to improve the quality of content displayed in search results.

Content JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

Can Google Discover really boost your visibility without driving traffic to your website?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Creators can now achieve greater visibility in Discover. Timely and high-quality content published across various social platforms can now be displayed alongside website articles.

Content Discover & News AI & SEO Social Media

How will creator profiles in Discover reshape the SEO traffic landscape?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Google has added profiles for publications and creators with a follow button in Discover, helping users stay updated on what you create online.

Discover & News AI & SEO

Should you still implement structured data if Google strips away their visual display?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★★

Google has removed certain visual elements that used structured data in search results. You can continue to use these types of structured data, but they no longer have a visual effect in search.

AI & SEO Images & Videos

Why does Google insist on flexible configuration for your structured data?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Having a flexible hosting configuration that facilitates adding and updating structured data helps you stay on top of changes to structured data.

AI & SEO

Should you declare shipping and return policies at the organization level in structured data?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Google has added support for shipping and return policies at the organization level, both in structured data and in Search Console, making it easier for e-commerce sites to specify these policies.

E-commerce Search Console

Is Chrome about to make HTTPS mandatory by default in 2026? Here's what you need to know

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★★

Chrome will make HTTPS the default protocol by October 2026, which means users will need to give permission before an unsecured site can load.

HTTPS & Security

Is your JavaScript paywall destroying your crawl budget? Here's how to fix it without cloaking

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Google has added supplementary information on JavaScript-based paywall configuration to its documentation so they work properly for search and beyond.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files

Do you really need to create an llms.txt file to appear in Google's AI search results?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★★

Google does not support the llms.txt file. You don't need to do anything special to be displayed in Google's AI-powered search features.

AI & SEO PDF & Files

Can Google's AI actually book a table on your restaurant site without human intervention?

John Mueller Nov 17, 2025 ★★

Google is experimenting with agentic features in AI Mode that allow users to complete tasks directly in search, such as booking a table via your restaurant site automatically.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

How Should You Handle Migrating a Website Between Two Different Domain Extensions?

John Mueller Nov 11, 2025 ★★★

A company would like to move most of its site to the .co.uk TLD, but keep a portion on its old .digital TLD for certain marketing campaigns. Here is John Mueller's advice: first, perform a migration from .digital to .co.uk using 301 redirects. Then, ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name Redirects

Are Automated SEO Audits Actually Hurting Your Rankings?

Martin Splitt Nov 11, 2025 ★★★

Martin Splitt emphasizes that a truly useful technical audit must be contextualized. In other words, it must be adapted to each site, rather than driven solely by automated metrics. In short, it is important to understand the technology and how the s...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO International SEO

Should a technical SEO audit really go beyond crawlability and indexation?

Martin Splitt Nov 06, 2025 ★★★

A technical SEO audit must ensure that no technical issues prevent or interfere with site crawling or indexation. It should use checklists and guidelines, but requires experience to adapt these tools to the audited site.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Is your technical SEO audit actually missing what really matters?

Martin Splitt Nov 06, 2025 ★★★

A technical audit must accomplish three things: use tools to identify potential problems, create a report tailored to the specific site to make sense of the data found, then formulate suggestions based on the site's real needs.

Content Search Console

Is your SEO audit doomed to fail before you even start?

Martin Splitt Nov 06, 2025 ★★★

You must first understand how your site works at the technology level, then use the right tools to identify problems affecting that specific technical foundation, before grouping results based on the effort and impact of each fix.

Content

What are the technical priorities Google really wants you to audit first?

Martin Splitt Nov 06, 2025 ★★★

Aspects to verify during an audit include: routing or network issues, HTTP headers and metadata, redirect chains or loops, canonicalization and internal link issues, as well as markup and rendering problems.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Redirects

Are you really leveraging Google Search Console's crawl data to boost your indexation strategy?

Martin Splitt Nov 06, 2025 ★★

The Crawl Stats report in Google Search Console allows you to discover how your server interacts with Google's robots and identify potential server interaction problems.

Crawl & Indexing Search Console